Eye watering service item cost

markc

markc

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I know this has been covered before, but I am still flabbergasted at the mark-up that ends up on these things. I'm just sorting out the service items and thought that some may be interested in these comparisons

4 x air filters - MTU £680 - Alexis Filters £232 (exactly the same filter, same manufacturer)
4 x oil filters - MTU £126 - Alexis Filters £36
4 x fuel filters - MTU £432 - Mann £128

So with just those 3 items it's £396 v £1,238 from MTU, and I'm positive that the places where I'm buying from are making a decent profit.
 
jrudge said:
Same with Volvo air filters. about a qtr of the price. Oil filters etc are not significantly cheaper. Crank case vent filters are the other one. Daft
Click to expand...

I can get two air filters for my kad32 Volvo’s under a tenner from euro car parts if buying when they have a good discount deal on which can be up to 60% off while the main VP agent charges £50 the pair. I have used the Mann and Crosland branded air filters a few years now with no issues.
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/mann-filter-air-filter-502660049
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/crosland-air-filter-502660048


The crank case filter can be bought around £25 a pair for the WIX46106 breather filter. I have yet to find a local supplier for these . Mail order sometimes not very cost effective when delivery charges are added.
 
Been using “ inline filters “ for the oil and fuel , Baldwin or MANN , Although have found genuine MAN fuel on eBay for about a fiver ....stock clearance .
Also used the U.K. MAN dealer PMM based in Plymouth for the air filter .Was instantly offered 20 % off over the phone something like £95 + VAT each .The MAN guy in Antibes fleeced me €160 + tax ( dropped one in the water - don’t ask ) .
How ever the Chandler at the corner in Cannes marina had them @ €59 each .Went in to buy something else and while in the queue to pay there they were so snapped up a couple .
Not sure why private individuals get quoted the full fat price from a concessionaire? Trade obviously get x % off , big customers negotiate even more through there local agent . Can’t see Stagecoach or Stobart paying rrp for MAN service items or MTU if run any of there stuff . Remember most service parts are not super unique to that engine , not actually made by MAN or MTU , I think my oil filter is used in 100 s of different engines / applications.

How ever the single main belt is unique to this engine @ £120 each from a MAN agent .But seem to last - no timed change just inspect for tension + cracking , change as appropriate.

Odd really they still have a full fat screen price to quote to private individuals with the advent of Mr Google .
 
markc said:
I know this has been covered before, but I am still flabbergasted at the mark-up that ends up on these things. I'm just sorting out the service items and thought that some may be interested in these comparisons

4 x air filters - MTU £680 - Alexis Filters £232 (exactly the same filter, same manufacturer)
4 x oil filters - MTU £126 - Alexis Filters £36
4 x fuel filters - MTU £432 - Mann £128

So with just those 3 items it's £396 v £1,238 from MTU, and I'm positive that the places where I'm buying from are making a decent profit.
Click to expand...

Out of interest, where were did you get the MTU prices from?
 
If you have the time it’s worth DIY .

For the past few years since retiring I have been doing my own servicing of my MAN 2876 Le 401 engines .
Got the time an inclination.
As mark does internet search the parts .Oil filters about £15 each x2 , fuel about £10 x4 , Racors €20 x2 ......MAN spec 3275 oil 15/40 w 64 L for approx £200 delivered .
So parts total around £300 .
Air filters are biannual at well, all over the place price wise say £100 x2 .

That’s it as labour is free . I can see a pro charging a day when you consider travel and waste disposal etc ....so what’s that 7 hr tops ?
I did the valve clearances too last year ( every 400 hrs ) cost £5 for a metric feeler guage . About 3 hrs tops for a pro + travel etc he might be able go another boat same day if near ?
Gearbox oil is every 200 hrs so biannual 5 L x 2 of straight 40 w about a fiver a litre .
1 hr for both + waste disposal and travel if a pro .

Every year I drain off 10 L of coolant per engine ( capacity 30+) basically the header tank and replenish about €20 per side .Green coolant in Italian supermarkets is a
£10 / 5 L .......something to do with keeping the corrosion inhibition active .
Again about an hours worth of work + travel + disposal.

That’s been it for the past 5 years .One set of impellers fitted for piece of mind ....not a lot as researched the OEM factory and bought direct for peanuts .
No breakdowns no fault lights , no alarms everything running as far as I can tell within spec , no repairs .

So all in all pretty economic ownership experience thus far !

Don’t know what a pro would charge for any of this ? Or for the parts either ?
Realise a pro has overheads , vehicle , ins , VAT , Premises , transport costs , etc etc and there are many decent guys out there .
 
markc said:
Tell me about it, and they did a crap job. DIY now!
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What model number are the engines?
I've always done my own servicing.
When we bought the boat Princess put me on a course in Friedrichshafen.
There are three levels of MTU engineer.
The first level is qualified only to do maintenance jobs including valve clearances etc.
The second level engineer can strip components like intercoolers etc.
And the third level is trained to completely strip and rebuild.
My course was to do the first level - it was aimed at owners, skippers and we also had some Princess staff on the course.
Really interesting - there is a thread somewhere on here.

But getting back to the point, it isn't rocket science maintaining my CR2000 - M93s.
I use a good quality oil and only change it every other year.

I asked the question above because I pay nothing like the prices you have quoted.
In fact, I was very pleased with the prices they charged for a couple of gearbox filters that aren't on their usual parts list.

DIY is the way to go.
 
Hurricane said:
What model number are the engines?
I've always done my own servicing.
When we bought the boat Princess put me on a course in Friedrichshafen.
There are three levels of MTU engineer.
The first level is qualified only to do maintenance jobs including valve clearances etc.
The second level engineer can strip components like intercoolers etc.
And the third level is trained to completely strip and rebuild.
My course was to do the first level - it was aimed at owners, skippers and we also had some Princess staff on the course.
Really interesting - there is a thread somewhere on here.

But getting back to the point, it isn't rocket science maintaining my CR2000 - M93s.
I use a good quality oil and only change it every other year.

I asked the question above because I pay nothing like the prices you have quoted.
In fact, I was very pleased with the prices they charged for a couple of gearbox filters that aren't on their usual parts list.

DIY is the way to go.
Click to expand...
I have always serviced my engines myself, but I did get MTU to do the first service just for peace of mind. It was a big mistake - firstly far too expensive, and secondly they didn't do a good job as they missed a fuel leak and some exhaust leaks. I have an account with MTU parts in the UK, but I have always found parts much cheaper elsewhere. I have a good contact for OEM supply of parts for far less than MTU which I found when sourcing a wastegate - happy to share. I did speak to the MTU training centre in Germany last year about a course but they didn't have any planned for my engine model 8V183 TE93. I do have the full workshop manual and full parts catalogue which has been super useful in learning about the engines.
 
markc said:
I have always serviced my engines myself, but I did get MTU to do the first service just for peace of mind. It was a big mistake - firstly far too expensive, and secondly they didn't do a good job as they missed a fuel leak and some exhaust leaks. I have an account with MTU parts in the UK, but I have always found parts much cheaper elsewhere. I have a good contact for OEM supply of parts for far less than MTU which I found when sourcing a wastegate - happy to share. I did speak to the MTU training centre in Germany last year about a course but they didn't have any planned for my engine model 8V183 TE93. I do have the full workshop manual and full parts catalogue which has been super useful in learning about the engines.
Click to expand...

I had some help from Princess with my 1000 hr service.
A guy with the same qualifications as me but he does it for a job.
During the service, he spotted a loose bolt that I had missed.
I think it had been loose since that engine engine was new.
It turned out to be a broken bolt that needed to be extracted.
It was in a completely inaccessible position which meant that we had to move the engine back to do the repair.
And to get to it, we had to remove the vibration damper - a job that only MTU could do.
And, yes, that was expensive.
I got our local engineers (Volvo agents in fact but they specialise in servicing the big fishing fleet in town) to do all the hard work.
Their engineers removed the exhaust, shaft and all the connecting pipework/wiring.
Then moved it back about 2 feet using a crane.
MTU engineers spent one day doing the repair.
The local engineer's bill was actually less than MTU's so I do appreciate and understand where you are coming from.
The value I had from our local guys far outstripped the value from MTU.
But we are a bit at their mercy when jobs like that come along - they are the only ones with the special tools to do the job.

For anyone interested, here's a short video of the engine being moved:-


Just over 3 tonnes - Easy when you know how!!!
 
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